|
|
||||||||||||||||||||
|
Our Life - How We Live How we live is the url of this page. And for once I'm at a loss. How do I describe our way of life to you? There are currently 9 of us. Myself, my 3 daughters and 5 grandchildren. We live simply. There are very few what you consider extravagant items in our home or lives. The focus is more on NEED rather than want. Our biggest luxury is the internet and satellite tv. On our few acres here in rural North Carolina, our livestock varies and from time to time you can find pigs, chickens, ducks, rabbits, quail, geese, turkeys, and we usually have a couple of goats. We also have 8 blue tick coon hounds and a 4 beagles, 2 tri-color and 2 lemon and whites. We hunt, fish, grow our own garden, have planted a small orchard, slaughter our own chickens, pigs and eat what we kill, and waste nothing if we can help it. Growing anything here in the foothills is far different from the fertile eastern Carolina soil where I grew up. We've had to learn farming all over again. We're 2 hours west of where we originally came from and the difference in the soil is incredible. Money isn't plentiful, we chose our way of life over cash. Money can buy a lot of things, but it can't buy happiness, love or family. We live pretty much in harmony and appreciation of each other and have a mutual admiration society going here. We balance work with play when it's convenient. To say life is good is an understatement. Life is great! There is so much pleasure to be found in each day. I work outside the farm to help support and sustain the farm and livestock and one of my daughters is able to maintain a full time job while going to college. God governs our home. We live by his rules, and within the laws of nature, trying never to take more than we give back. We play inside societies rules for the most part, but live by our own standards. We do not let society dictate our beliefs. My children don't run the streets, or see or feel a need too. They don't wear baggie clothes, designer labels, or have to have the 'newest' fad. We do have practices that set us apart from the world at large. We don't do doctors or pharmaceutical medicines without good reason. To visit a medical doctor is a rarity in our home. We don't need them. We have been blessed in that the worst thing going in our home is a bad cold occasionally. We do seek medical treatment when required, or when something is outside the realm of my abilities to treat with herbs and common sense. We live a healthy enough life style to not need much in the way of doctoring, holistically or otherwise. The animals are treated holistically and we lean towards preventative treatments rather than waiting for illness to come. Animals are wormed, fed well balanced and nutritious diets, kept warm and dry and cared for as if they were children. As far as dentistry goes, we've been fortunate with the children's teeth. They brush and floss regularly and we do not allow sweets and have taught the children to care for their mouths. Neither of the 2 youngest of my children has ever had a cavity. We do not go to public schools. We want a quality of education for the girls that can not be provided thru public school anymore. Lack of text books, the changes in society, the changes in public behavior and the need for schools to enforce conformity all contribute to this decision. We find that a public education promotes a lot of things that we do not approve of...... like disrespect for others, a lowering of self esteem and it is a breeding ground for a lack of moral fiber. We also feel that raising our children is a job for parents not teachers or day care providers and the political system. It is our duty as parents to provide our children with a foundation of belief and values that will sustain them for a lifetime. The children are all taught the value of a job well done, the rewards of honesty and pride, and to know the value of the natural resources that surround us. We are each a contributing member of what makes life so wonderful here. We all have jobs around the farm based on what we do best..... Even the children work.....at something no matter how small. We all work hard at life....... in hopes that this will all pay off and will bring about a better, happier, healthier life for us and those who's lives we touch.
|
|
||||||||||||||||||
Haven't
Joined Creative Homesteading yet?
The information offered on
this website is for educational purposes only
|
||||||||||||||||||||
